Your guide to the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools primary election race
Three longstanding figures in the local education scene are running for Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in the June 2 primary election.
The candidates are incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher, former Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimear O’Brien and former Parlier Unified assistant superintendent Johnny Alvarado.
The county superintendent of schools leads the County Office of Education and is responsible for monitoring the 31 school districts across Fresno County. They help support district superintendents. The California County Superintendents website lists fiscal oversight, goal monitoring and directly supporting smaller districts as some specific duties.
Michele Cantwell-Copher
Michele Cantwell-Copher was elected as Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in June 2022, and she’s seeking another four-year term. Prior to being elected, she was an educator for more than 35 years.
At a forum last month, Cantwell-Copher highlighted learning gains during her time in office, noting that Fresno County has “some of the highest test scores in the state of California in terms of growth.”
During her tenure, the closure of the Kids Café, an eatery that employed students with special needs, was one controversy that emerged. On her campaign website, Cantwell-Copher says the café was in a $350,000 annual deficit and shifted focus on produce stands.
Cantwell-Copher’s endorsements include Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her, Sheriff John Zanoni and Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua.
Eimear O’Brien
Eimear O’Brien served as the superintendent of Clovis Unified from 2017 to 2023. She served a two-month stint as interim superintendent of Central Unified in March 2025.
“I got a call from the president of the board here to say we’re going to need a superintendent,” O’Brien told The Bee in June. “I thought, ‘What does this say about me if I don’t help?’”
O’Brien has identified getting students reading at grade level by third grade as one of her main goals.
“About 60% of our third-graders aren’t reading at grade level. That’s unacceptable,” she said during last month’s forum.
O’Brien’s endorsements include Mayor Jerry Dyer, District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and Clovis Unified Superintendent Corrine Folmer.
Johnny Alvarado
Alvarado has worked across seven Fresno County districts, including leadership roles at Parlier Unified and Fresno Unified, per his election website.
In his candidate statement, Alvarado said he aims to address social promotion, or the practice of passing students to the next grade even if they didn’t fully meet academic standards.
During last month’s forum, Alvarado said the county’s high rates of students who test below grade level is “a problem that we need to talk about.”
Alvarado’s endorsements include Reedley Mayor Matthew Tuttle, Congressman John Duarte and the Fresno County Republican National Hispanic Assembly.
